Jordan Yospe, counsel, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Dealmakers Impact Report 2011: Lawyers

Labeled the “guru of brand integration,” Yospe specializes in the branded entertainment space, representing advertisers in their Hollywood deals and, on the other side of the coin, production companies and producers who seek to integrate advertising into film, TV and new-media projects.

Formerly with Mark Burnett Productions, he cites “The Apprentice” as the “original model” and “rocket fuel” for the new world in which he works.

“We had a multi-million-dollar sponsor in every episode by season three,” he reports. “It went from zero to huge overnight, and now the business is getting bigger every year.”

KEY DEALS: Yospe is working for an eight-figure-funded new media venture, VoyR, which is putting brands and A-list music and professional athletic talent together to create unique, major budget, cross-platform content for the web and, in the future, television.

“You couldn’t really ever do this before in a scripted movie deal or even a reality TV deal,” he says. “This first deal was pretty hard, but we hope to do many more such deals in 2012.”